Lacing-fly for corsets.



C. B. HOWD.

LACING FLY FOR CORSETS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 15. 1912.

Patented Apr. 10, 191?.

Even 1 52 C/azziasfiflowd/i z M \gmm KTED TA PATENT @FFTQEE CHARLES B. I-IOWD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LAGING-FLY FOR CORSETS.

Application filed July 15, 1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, (Ii-menus B. Howe, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Lacing-Flies for Corsets, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

The purpose of this invention is to provide improved construction of garments of the character of corsets or corset waists, consisting in an improved lacing fly and its connections with the garment. It consists of the elements and. features of construction as described, as set out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of ing the same in ordinary laced condition.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the lacing fly which constitutes the characteristic features of the invention, and a portion of the bellows plait to which the fly is attached on the garment, the sheathing of the fly being partly cut away at one point to disclose the lacing and hook-engaging devices with which it is provided.

Fig.3 is a section at the line, 33, on Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail plan view of one of the lacing fly.

In garments of the class to which this invention is applicable, it is desirable to provide at the center of the front means for lacing the garment from top to bottom, adapted for accommodating it at that point to the form and size of the wearer, as is possible to do by lacing, so as to distribute the accommodation equally at both sides of the vertical center line, and permit the gap covered by the lacing to vary in width throughout its vertical extent as required by the necessity of accommodating the garment to the form, and at the same time to provide for completely opening the garment from top to bottom at a diiferent line from that at and hoolreligaging devices of the which the lacing is provided so that, the lac- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11 1), 1917,

Serial No, 709,354.

at the line at which the garment is to be opened. This causes the line of hooking to be displaced from the center line by the amount of the distance of the edge of the fly at which the hooking is effected from the center line, or line of crossings, of the lacing, which displacement of the line of separation of the garment from the center line of the front varies obviously according to theeXtent of the gap crossed by the lacing, which varies, as stated, according to the necessity of accommodating the form of the wearer. The edge of the garment at which the hooking is effected for adapting the garment to its purpose of shaping the vertical I fore at the opposite side of the lacing from that at which the garment is hooked together,two stiffening stays occupying an area substantially equal to that of the two first mentioned. hen the garment is somewhat widelylacechthis is liable to carry the stiifened area so far away from the center line of the front as to reach the point at which the form distinctly and somewhat abruptly curves forward at the sides, and. this causes the garment, when drawn to the form of the wearer, to bend somewhat angularly. at the outer edges of the outermost of these stiffening stays, in following the form around the sides of the wearer, thus preventing flowing curves and causing the gar- 'ment to interfere with rather than to assist the presentation of natural graceful outlines. To avoid this defect is one of the purposes of this invention, which is accomplished by constructing the lacing fly without a stiffening stay, thus avoiding the necessity for providing more than one stiffening stay in the corresponding position upon the opposite member of the garment.

The omission of the stiffening stay from the lacing fly, leaving the latter quite flexible, renders it liable to be pulled into a zig- Zag form by the stress of its hook connections pulling in one direction and its lacing v the lacing itself.

connections pulling in the opposite direction; and to prevent this distortion of the lacing fly is a second specific purpose of this invention. In connection also with the means for accomplishing the purposes above stated, the lacing fly, which has sometimes heretofore been provided entirely detached from the garment except as attached thereto by the lacing and hooks, is connected to the edge of the garment to which it is also connected by the lacing, by the means of a bellows plait or backing web of sufficient extent to accommodate the widest spread ever required at the lacing, so as to afford a backing for the gap crossed by the lacing, which bellows plait, or backing, serves as a means of permanently connecting the lacing fly with the body of the garment independently of In the drawings, A,A are the opposite sides of the front portion of the garment which are connected by the lacing and hooking devices. The side, A, is formed at its edge with a sheath, 0, for the stiffening stay, B, to which are secured in a customary manner hooks, C, which protrude at the edge of said side, A, for engagement with any suitable engaging devices which may be provided on the fly. The side, A has its edge reinforced by a cord or very light bone, D, back of which said side is provided with lacing eyelets, E, and back of the lacing eyelets there is provided in this side, A a sheath, 0 for a stiffening stay, B corresponding to the stay, B, at the other side. The cord or bone, D, is not to be regarded as a stiffening stay, being merely reinforcement for the edge to assist in holding the eyelets. F is the lacing fly. It is made of flexible fabric and consists substantially of a sheath in which are mounted and secured the hook and lace-engaging fittings, G, each of said fittings comprises an engageable terminal, G which is shown in the form of a loop or eye, adapted for engaging one of the hooks, C, of the side, A, of the garment; (but obviously it is immaterial which of the two engaging members last mentioned has the form of the hook and which has the form of the eye, it being only necessary that they be reciprocally constructed for engagement witheach other). The fitting, G, in addition to the terminal, G has at-the portion which is inclosed within the sheath afforded by the lacing and fly, an aperture or eye, G and the fitting is secured to the fly by means of an open eyelet, H, which passes through this aperture, that is, through said aperture and through the fabric of the fly at both sides of the fitting, thereby effecting a secure attachment of the fitting to the fabric, while at the same time forming a reinforced lacing opening entirely through the fly. The fitting, G, has wings, G G extended in opposite directions from the eyeleted aperture,

the edges of said wings at the side toward the engageable terminal, G being in line adapted to seat them in the fold at the edge of the sheath of the lacing fly, and by being thus positioned, these wings position the fitting for direct protrusion of the terminal, G from the edge of the fly. The fit tings, G, are spaced apart along the length of the fly at distances corresponding ac curately to the distances between the successive eyelets, E, so that the lacing, K, engaging the eyelets, E, and the eyelets, H, and crossing the space between the lacing fly and the side, A in the usual manner, may be operated in the usual manner to connect the parts and draw them together variably throughout the length of the connected edges as required. It will be noticed that the fittings, G, have the engaging eyelets or loops, G and the apertures, G in line with each other directly transverse to the edge of the wings, G which positions them in line directly transverse to the edge of the lacing fly; and from these relative positions of the two features of the fitting, it results that the pull upon the lacing fly of its hook engagements with the side, A, and the pull of its lacing engagement with the side, A being directly opposed to each other, cannot operate to distort or zig-zag the fly, as would be the case if the lacing and hook connections were not thus directly opposed.

The backing or bellows plait, L, is permanently secured at one edge to the side, A of the garment back of the eyelets, E, and is 100 also secured at the opposite vertical edge to the lacing fly at the edge from which the loops or eyes, G project for engagement with the hooks, C. This backing or bellows plait, therefore, at all times affords a complete backing for not only the widest interval between the lacing fly and the side, A but also'for the eyelets in both said parts. This bellows plait may be, if desired, provided with light bones, L extending from top to bottom of said bellows plait so as to prevent it from becoming wrinkled or dis- 'torted so as to present an inelegant appearance back of the laced aperture.

I claim 1. A lacing fly for corsets comprising a flexible fabric sheath and separate lacing fittings secured therein, each of said fittings comprising an engageable terminal which protrudes from one longitudinal edge of the sheath, and a lacing eye back of the terminal within the sheath, said terminal and eye being in line with each other directly transverse to the edge of the sheath from which the said terminal protrudes.

2. A lacing fly for corsets comprising a flexible fabric sheath and separate lacing fittings secured therein, each of said fittings comprising a terminal whichprotrudes from one longitudinal edge of the sheath adapted for engagement to pull the ensheathed part of the fitting to that edge, and oppositelyextended wings back of the protruding terminal engaged with the fold of the sheath at the edge through which the terminal protrudes, and. having also an eye back of the fold-engaging edge of said wings, said eye and the protruding terminal being in line with each other directly transverse to said edge of the wings.

3. A lacing fly fitting consisting of a piece of stiff material adapted to be infolded in a sheath and having a substantially straight edge adapted to be stopped at the fold of such sheath, and comprising a terminal projecting from said edge and adapted to protrude from the fold of an inclosing sheath and to be engaged for pulling said edge into such fold, and a lacing eye at the opposite side of said edge from said terminal in line I therewith directl 1 transverse to said ed 'e.

4. A lacing fly fitting comprising a terminal and a lacing eye and straigl1tedged means by which it is adapted to be engaged with a sheath at a fold thereof with the terminal projecting from the fold and in line with the eye transverse to the fold, said terminal being adapted to be engaged for pulling the fitting into the fold.

5. A lacing fly fitting having an extended substantially straight edge and a terminal projecting from said edge adapted to be engaged for pulling in the direction in which it projects, and a lacing eye directly opposite the terminal back of said edge.

6. A lacing fly fitting comprising two oppositely extending wings having their corresponding edges at one side substantially straight and alined; a terminal projecting transversely to the line of said alined edges intermediate the wings adapted to be engaged for pulling away from said alined edges, and having directly opposite said terminal a lacing eye adapted to receive an eyelet, whereby such fitting is adapted to be mounted in a flexible sheath comprising a folded edge with which the alined edges of the wings may engage from which the terminal may project when the fitting is secured in such sheath by such eyelet.

7 In combination with a flexible fabric sheath having one edge formed by a fold of the fabric; a. lacing fly fitting consisting of a piece of stiff material infolded in the sheath and having a substantially straight edge stopped at the fold thereof, said fitting comprising a terminal projecting from said fold, and a lacing eye at the opposite side of said straight edge in line therewith directly transverse to said edge.

8. A lacing fly comprising, in combination with a flexible fabric strip folded to form one edge of the fly; a fitting consisting of a piece of stiff material comprising two oppositely-extended wings having their corresponding edges at one side substantially straight and alined, said straight edge bemg engaged in the fold of the fabric and said fitting having a terminal projecting from the line of said alined straight edges intermediate the wings through the fold and adapted to be engaged for pulling away from said alined edges, and having directly opposite said terminal a lacing eye adapted to receive an eyelet; whereby the pull between the terminal and the eye draws said alined straight edges directly into the fold.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Chicago, Illinois, this 8th day of July 1912.

CHARLES B. HOWD. Witnesses:

CHAs. S. BURTON, EDNA M. MACINTOSH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). 0. 

